Janelle Maiocco

Hi.

Welcome to my blog. I live in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle on an Urban Farm (w/ five laying hens and a huge garden). I am a trained chef (w/ a certificate in food preservation), taught at a cooking school & like to share 'kitchen hacks' - culinary tips that save time, money & maximize flavor. If that isn't enough, I also run a food+tech startup called Barn2Door.com - a platform to help everyone easily find & buy food directly from farmers, fishers & ranchers (from CSA's to urban farm eggs to 1/2 a grass-fed cow).

cheddar and broccoli soup recipe (using broccoli stems!)

cheddar and broccoli soup recipe (using broccoli stems!)

cheddar and broccoli soup recipe www.talkoftomatoes.com
cheddar and broccoli soup recipe www.talkoftomatoes.com

Broccoli stems should not be underrated. In fact if you are cooking on a budget, buying broccoli heads with long stems is much less expensive than buying bags of pre-cut florets. (Enter this cheddar and broccoli soup recipe). Think on it: you can have expensive pre-cut florets at just one meal OR buy long-legged broccoli heads and have florets at one meal and soup at the next. Not only do you save money: you have more food. It's frugal. It's smart. It's farmer-like.

I had a huge bag of stems leftover from making broccoli salad for 25 people. I lazily tossed them into a large pot with salt, pepper and some rough cut white onions and let it simmer in a tiny bit of olive oil until it started to caramelize. By lazy I mean: I didn't even bother chop up the stems. I just used a big ole pot and turned the stems over with a pair of tongs when I was walking by. Next I added beer. It didn't even cover the stems but I couldn't be bothered. I let the stems simmer a bit, then added homemade chicken stock (DIY vegetable stock would be an appropriate alternative... but I already had chicken stock simmering on the stove---and this soup really was about easiest path to final result).

I let it simmer. And when I remembered it was on the stove an hour later, I pureed it and tossed it in the fridge. The next day I took out the soup, put it into a pot and heated it up. I then added: salt, white pepper and a hunk of cheese (I just rummaged through my fridge to find cheese remnants---I ended up using a Jack cheese that was studded with black and green peppercorns). Once the cheese melted into the soup, I finished it with a little half and half. Done.

Did I mention the family adored it? Said it was the best broccoli soup they ever tasted. Huh.

I should call it:

Lazy Girl Broccoli Stem Soup

Broccoli stems White onions a few T of olive oil optional: herbs. I think I added some dried thyme or marjoram. Beer (pale ale, IPA, Mexican beer) Chicken stock Cheese Half and half KS&WP (kosher salt and white pepper---a lot of each, coarsely ground)

I know. No portions or exact amounts. Here is the gig: I put in stems (with part of one onion) and let is sizzle a bit in olive oil (plus any dried herbs, S&P)---then covered it halfway with beer. It simmered down to about 1/3 of the way up the stems. I then added broth to be level with the stems so they would cook. My soup was on the thicker side, but the next day when I heated it I added 1/2 and 1/2---just enough to get the consistency I wanted (which wasn't a whole lot). Cheese? Eh, a few Tablespoons of shredded per serving. I added it as I re-heated the soup the next day. If your soup looks like it serves 6, add in 2/3 cup or so of cheese. Make sense? Trust me on this one.

pickled nasturtium pods

pickled nasturtium pods

ice cream, wine and a cookbook giveaway (Italian desserts)!

ice cream, wine and a cookbook giveaway (Italian desserts)!